Races of 2013-2014

In 2012, I met my now-fiance. In March 2013, we decided to run the Shamrock 8K.

I assumed that he had done organized running events before. I honestly thought that if someone was in good shape, they had run in a race. I thought that I was just behind on this whole running with other people thing.

I was wrong. My fiance had never run in an organized event. So that made the Yuengling Shamrock 8K so much more fun!!!

I hate running, still. 

Tough Mudder MidAtlantic 2012

TM MidAtlantic 2012 was scheduled for the day before my 27th birthday. Which was pretty good, because that meant that 3 of my best friends were forced to hang out with me on my birthday weekend, since they'd already committed to being my TM Teammates that year. 3D and I were ready.

Team DTF!

(Down To Finish....duh)

Races of 2012, Moving to Texas

Here I am....almost 2 years after my last entry...starting again...

A lot has happened since April of 2012. Obviously. A lot happens every day.

I came back because I'll be moving from Virginia to Texas in May 2014. Since I don't know anyone there yet, and my family will still be here in Virginia...blogging might be a good way to keep track of the adventure and keep family and friends informed!

But let me recap some of the fitness stuff I never got around to posting. 

Here's some stuff I did: 

May 2012
I ran my second ChickFilA 5K, which was another great event from FlatOut Events. Even better, my cousin ran it with me. (Well...she ran it as well...not with me...she beat me!)

(Free sammiches for the runners!!!)

Workout Buddies

I spent the weekend house-sitting and dog-sitting while my mom was out of town. And when I say that, I really mean that I intended to literally SIT all weekend. It was a long work week, and I was totally exhausted. My body aches with stress.

(How could you want to go to the gym when you could just SIT with this guy all day?)

So Saturday, I woke up and had every intention of chilling out all day. Until I got on Facebook, and one of my friends who is a very avid gym-goer IMed me. He has been trying to get together at the gym for some time, and asked if I was going since he was on his way there. Initially, I said "naaahhh". But after thinking about it for about five minutes, I decided that he had the right idea. Plus, I hadn't actually seen him in almost ten years, so this was a good opportunity.

I got my ass in gear and headed out to the gym.

Busy Weekend

It was a great weekend, but very busy. However, I got my workout in, so it's okay!

Friday was a social evening, so I didn't work out at all that day. But Saturday was rushed!

Congrats to my brother, who graduated Saturday morning! After watching the commencement, we all met at Red Lobster for a celebratory lunch. I did good. I limited myself to one delicious cheddar bay biscuit, and had a salad before the meal came. Shrimp scampi and crab legs, with a side of broccoli instead of fries. I knew I'd be running after lunch, so I didn't want anything super heavy, and keeping the exercise in mind made me make a few decent decisions at the table.

A shoe is a shoe is a shoe, right?....wrong

So I love my shoes so much that I decided to write a blog about them. Hahaha. Well, I figured if anyone looked for a review, I could speak up for the non-athletic people trying to start working out....

Actually, I've never been super active before. So when I started working out, I basically had my Nike Shox everyday shoes to use in the gym. I started to notice that my hips and knees were really taking a beating when I ran. I chalked it up to being out of shape and kept trucking on.

Unfortunately, this tactic didn't work.Someone told me to go online and check out Asics.

I was skeptical of high praises for Asics. I mean, I'm sure they're great, but some people literally acted as if NOTHING out there was suitable for my feet. Whatever, I found a pretty pair and ...

So, behold, my Asics Gel Noosa Tri-6.

Team Running #2

Last night's run was okay.

Another run approximately 3 miles, but this time on a paved trail. I found that the nature trail was a lot easier on my knees, which I've had trouble with in the past. But it wasn't horrible.

As a team, we run at about a 4 mph pace. Last night, there were 5 of us and we did the 3 miles in about 50 minutes. It took a little longer, but we tried to stick together as a team, and we did some pushups and situps at every 1/2 mile marker. Also, it was a little warmer yesterday than it was Sunday.

The good thing about the paved course was the mile markers. Every 1/4 mile was marked on the path, so that was helpful.

I tried a Gatorade "Prime" gel thing. Supposedly it's supposed to give you a beginning spurt of energy with B vitamins to jumpstart your workout. To be honest, I just got really hot really fast. Didn't really feel that different. Maybe it's because I've been so sedentary and these things are meant for active people. Who knows, but I won't be paying $1.99 for one again. I'll be asking friends for nutrition and energy advice.

I know that as a beginner it's good to give your body a break in between runs, but I'd really like to go back to the trail tonight. Sadly, it's rainy outside.

Maybe I'll do it anyways. Tough Mudder is going to be disgustingly cold, wet, and muddy. What's a little rain gonna hurt?

Starting to Train: 6 Months to Go!

Tough Mudder training, GO!!

I pitched the idea of the Tough Mudder to a lot of my friends, and suprisingly, some of them are super interested! So as of right now, I'm the only one officially signed up, but we've started a training group. Because a lot of us are out of shape, it's not really a big deal that we're not all on the same fitness level.

I'm really excited to have company training for this challenge, because I can't do it alone.

Just this past weekend, I have been way more active. On Friday, I did my usual 30 minute cardio workout and small upper body weights. Then, my friends and I went and played football on the beach. Let me just say, it wasn't much of a game, it was more like stumbling around on glass shard-like sand. Ouch!

Goal-Setting

I didn't just sign up for Tough Mudder thinking I could train alone and be ready. Didn't you read it? I've NEVER played a sport! I was the academic, not the athlete!

So I figured the first step is to set goals. I mean, that's what I did when I had a big school project.

I started by signing up for my first 5K race. I have no intention of winning the race, but I need to have short-term goals in order to push myself the right way.

In one month, I will be running the Chick-Fil-A 5K in our area. It's a relatively small race, and I think I can handle it.

First Step: Fitness

Here I go again, trying something new. I want to try a new, more active lifestyle. I've been telling myself I'm going to get into great physical shape, but lacked the motivation to do so. So I joined a gym in February, and have been going fairly regularly. With the exception of the last two weeks, in which work was rough and I moved, I was doing cardio and small weights at least 3 times a week. I'm trying to quit smoking, and have cut back from almost a pack a day down to about 5 cigarettes a day.

It's been hard to be motivated when I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I've never played a sport, and most of my friends haven't played sports or "trained" for anything in years. So I'm starting from scratch.

But I found a little motivation. Someone mentioned to me this ridiculous challenge that they will be doing in October. Anyone heard of the Tough Mudder? I hadn't....check it out:

http://www.toughmudder.com/